2026 Little Easy Bean Network – Plant A Garden, Water Your Soul, Join Our Family

[Rillowen]

I have used grass clippings alot. I use my lawn mower with a bagger and fill a 35 gallon garbage can then hual that to the garden when it's full and spread the lawn clippings. Go back for another load. I have even asked the neighbors if I could cut their grass for them and bag their lawn too. Leaves would be a good mulch too and a healthy soil ammendment. Trees bring up a lot of trace minerals from deep in the ground to the surface.

I like leaves the best, or i cut doewn the massive decorative grass bushes twice a year and use that. Grass clippings goes to chicken bedding, I dont want the seeds in the garden. But if I'm out hand chopping/weeding and I can see it doesnt have seeds then I will use it. The neighbor sell firewood and has the heavy machinery for chopping it, so he dumps all the wood/bark scraps that accumulate next to it in the mulch pile for me. We sort out the big stuff for free firewood/kindling and leave the rest for the garden. I discovered NOT to use that fresh next to annuals though. Let it sit a year, or save it for the perennials. I killed a LOT of sweet peppers with that stuff.

 

[Rillowen]

On that note, last frost is a week away!!! I am swearing to myself that I won't start my beans until the 18th, so that I am planting out no earlier than the 25th. I could have the discipline to go measure and record soil temps too... Beating back the "But I could put it under a cold frame" temptations with sheer willpower.

According to Google my soil temp reached 60 3 weeks before out last frost date (crazy winter this year) so I just put everything out right away on the date lol. Well... Most. I still have the sunflowers and sweet potatoes to get out there, and the egg plant, but its not even sprouted so I may have to go without it.